Construction will soon begin to raise the roadway on SH 87 for a six mile section. Located in Galveston County on Bolivar Peninsula, crews will raise the roadway to six feet above the sea level elevation, starting two miles west of SH 124 to Gilchrist. High tides and heavy rain have often closed a portion of SH 87 and the project to raise the roadway will help alleviate some of the flooding.

The Texas Transportation Commission awarded the project in August 2010 to Durwood Greene Construction Co., for $6.8 million.

On Monday, October 18, 2010, construction crews will begin running 50 trucks on the Galveston/Bolivar Ferry system to carry recycled asphalt pavement to Gilchrist. This will continue for approximately two weeks, excluding weekends. During that time, TxDOT will run three Ferry vessels daily between 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. The vessels will carry the construction trucks along with the regular traffic and Ferry workers will move the vehicles as efficiently and safely as possible. In the future, it will be necessary to again increase the number of Ferry vessels to accommodate the construction trucks carrying roadway materials to the project.

There will be scheduled lane closures affecting motorists on SH 87 during the project. Scheduled lane closure information is available on the Houston TranStar website at www.houstontranstar.org. All closures are subject to change due to inclement weather.